Can't Seem to Let You Go
by revivingophelia
Summary: A nice girl like Eve doesn't change so suddenly without a reason... Eve/CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, Natalya, others. Starts the night of Eve's heel turn in February 2012.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Can't Seem to Let You Go  
Author: Karen U  
Pairing/Character: Eve/CM Punk (eventual), possible Kofi/?, Natalya, Tamina, Cena, Zack Ryder, others  
Disclaimer: No one you recognize belongs to me  
Rating: M/R  
Summary: A nice girl like Eve isn't going to suddenly go bad... not without a reason.  
Spoilers: February 20, 2012 RAW. (The night Eve turned heel).  
Warnings: language, violence, adult situations

Part One

He glanced over at the man he'd ridden to the show with that night, arching a brow at the frown on the other man's face. "You okay?"

Kofi Kingston nodded slightly, then cursed. "Damn it. I mean... I'm fine. I just need to go and grab my video camera-"

"Your video camera? Why the hell did you bring it to the show tonight, and why the hell isn't it in with your stuff in the first place?" CM Punk wanted to know, the WWE champion tossing his title belt in his bag as he spoke, and Kofi rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I brought it. It's new. Cena was thinking of buying one like it, so he asked me to bring it, and I dropped it off by his locker room earlier... And just never actually went to get it back. Obviously. Kind of got distracted and all. I figure John never even got a chance to check it out with everything that happened and all," Kofi said, a frown on his face as he spoke, and Punk knew that the other man was thinking about some of the events of earlier that night. Most specifically, the events that had ended up opening the show. When Kofi started speaking again, Punk knew he was right about what the man was thinking about. "I just don't get it. It doesn't seem like her."

Punk frowned at that, part of him wanting to suggest that maybe Kofi didn't really know the girl at all, but still... "Something didn't ring true with it. I mean, if she didn't care at all about Zack... Why was she always putting herself in danger by being out there around Kane? Unless she was in on this with Kane, and if that were the case, wouldn't it have made more sense for her to go out there at the Elimination Chamber and cost Cena that match?" the champion questioned, then shrugged. "I don't know. Not my business, I guess. I'm not exactly friends with Cena or Eve."

"I thought I was friends with both of them." Kofi shook his head. "I get that Cena was mad, but... I don't like the way he talks to women sometimes. Make himself look like a big man and all that."

"He is kind of a dick sometimes. Well, I am, too. But whatever. I'm ready if you are. We'll stop by Cena's locker room and grab your video camera. If you want to deal with him, anyway. No telling what kind of mood he's in," CM Punk said, then frowned. "Though, the truth is... He didn't seem all that shaken up about the stuff with Eve when he went and talked about his WrestleMania match against the Rock, and that was like, what, an hour later? Maybe a little more."

"I guess he figures that his friendship with Zack is fixed now and he doesn't have to worry about it," Kofi replied, the tone of his voice making Punk think that maybe Kingston wasn't as much of a Cena friend as he'd originally thought him to be. Since Cena annoyed the ever-loving crap out of him sometimes, Punk actually considered it a good thing if Kofi didn't think the guy was all that fantastic.

"Well, let's go grab your video camera and get the hell out of here," Punk said, then looked over at the other man. "And if he's there? We are not hanging out with him. Or, at least, I'm not. Got it?"

"Got it, man. I don't feel much like going out, either. I think my leg might be a little messed up from landing on the damn steps when I got eliminated tonight," Kingston said, making a face at the thought of it, then turning to look at Punk as the two men made their way down the hall. "How do you feel about facing Jericho at WrestleMania?"

"Fine, actually. I mean, I literally kicked him out of the Elimination Chamber match last night, so... I feel good about my chances. I mean, obviously I know it won't be as easy to get him down and out as it was last night, but... I know I can do it. I took him out once. I can do it again. Even if it will be a lot more difficult this time around. Got about six weeks to prepare. I'm going to be ready," Punk said as they approached Cena's locker room, the WWE champion leaning against the wall as Kofi knocked on the door. When no one answered, the two men looked at each other, Punk shrugging at the question in the other man's eyes, and Kofi sighed before shoving open the door.

"Looks like he left already," the younger man said as he flipped on the light in the room, and Punk arched a brow.

"Did he take your camera?"

"No. He probably forgot it was even there," Kofi replied as he reached for the video camera, and Punk snorted when he saw it.

"That's a video camera? It's tiny-"

"Yeah, which makes it great. Doesn't take up room in the luggage, that sort of thing. Not hard to carry," Kofi said, then rolled his eyes. "Damn it."

"What?"

"That's at least the fifth time I've done this. I left the damn thing on record. A couple of nights ago I put it on the table and managed to record my cat jumping up and drinking from my glass of water."

"Okay, I'm just having bottles of water if I ever go to your house again. Nothing in a glass," Punk said, and Kofi rolled his eyes as he looked into the little viewfinder, scanning through the tape as he rewound it.

"Wonder what I got this time-"

"My guess is Cena staring into a mirror and telling himself to rise above hate," CM Punk said, causing Kofi to smile... The smile quickly fading as the man pressed another button on the camera, then slowly lowered it from his face. Punk frowned. "What is it?"

"I can play the video on my laptop. Plug it into a USB port."

"Yeah. So?"

"So you need to see this video. And I want it with sound."

Punk eyed the younger man. "You got something big, didn't you?"

"Definitely."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Thanks for the reviews so far. :-)

Part Two

He fiddled with the twist top of his water bottle, the man frowning as he watched Kofi do whatever it was he needed to do to get the footage he'd accidentally recorded that night to play on the man's laptop. "You didn't get some sort of kinky sex game, did you? Because if so, I don't want to see it, and really... I don't want to know what kind of sick crap John Cena's into," Punk said, and that earned him a dirty look and a roll of the eyes from Kofi Kingston.

"If that was what I'd taped, I'd be erasing it right now, then trying to find a way to scrub the images from my brain," the other man said, shaking his head slightly. "That's not what this is. This is... You don't have to watch it if you don't want to. But I need to know what's on this tape. I need to know I wasn't just seeing things."

"It's bad, isn't it?"

"If by 'bad' do you mean, am I currently rethinking everything I saw tonight as well as everything I thought I knew about John Cena, then... Yes, it's bad," Kofi said, then stepped back slightly, pressing a button for the volume before looking over at the WWE champion. "It's ready to play. I think I've got it at the right spot. You going to watch it, or..."

"I'm not one to just skip out of stuff. So let's see what it is," CM Punk said, frowning as he stepped closer to the laptop, his gaze on the screen as Kofi brought the video up, though it was currently paused, the action yet to start playing out.

Somehow, CM Punk wasn't surprised to see that, on the video, Eve Torres was in John Cena's locker room.

"When is this?" he asked, and Kofi pointed to the lower corner.

"Time stamp. This is after he tore her down in the ring."

"Why the hell would she go to his locker room after what he said?" Punk questioned, and Kofi shrugged.

"I guess we'll have to watch the video to find out," he said, then stepped closer to the screen just long enough to hit whatever button was needed for the video to start playing.

"Are you happy now?" Eve's voice came through loud and clear, angry, but filled with tears as well. Not surprising, given the way she'd cried in the ring. "You got what you wanted Cena. The fucking blame's on me. It no longer matters to people that I was chased by Kane for weeks or that I told Zack over and over again that I just wanted to be friends and he wouldn't listen. It doesn't matter that you kissed me back-"

"Well, everyone has to kiss a slut at least once, right?" Cena laughed at her, and on the screen, Eve reached out, shoving at his shoulders hard enough that he stumbled back at step. She tilted her head as she looked at Cena.

"Maybe you're right. And I did kiss a slut. Last week. Or do you prefer the term man-whore?" she tossed back at him, the diva's words and actions earning a nod of approval and a slight smile from Punk... That smile quickly fading and turning into a nasty gleam in his eyes when he watched Cena reach out and grab Eve by the hair, slamming her hard into the wall of his locker room.

"Is this what you saw?" Punk asked, and Kofi shook his head.

"I hadn't rewound this far before."

"So there's more," Punk muttered, then winced when Cena got right up in Eve's face.

"Listen, you bitch. You're nothing. I made sure that you're nothing. No one cares about you, except that according to me, you're nothing but a skank. A slut. A whore. And that's what you get for fucking up my friendship with Zack."

Eve struggled against Cena's grip on her hair, but it was clear that she was outmatched. He wasn't going to let go, and her only escape would include losing a big chunk of her hair, so she seemed to instead concentrate on trying to make his grip less painful. As he watched what was happening on the screen, Punk's hands clenched into fists, the man wishing that he could find a way to go back in time and somehow stop this, because no woman deserved to be treated like this... And from what was being said, it was seemed that the whole scene from tonight had been a setup. That Cena had somehow talked Eve into taking the blame. Or, more accurately, he'd threatened her into it.

"You fucked up your friendship with Zack just as much as I did. You didn't fucking push me away last week. You did, however, shove Zack down and raise your fist to him. That was all on you, Cena."

"It's your fault. You messed with my head with that kiss-"

"Then I must be a really good kisser," Eve shot back at him, the woman somehow finding the room to jerk her leg up and kick Cena exactly where it would hurt the most, causing the man to let her go, and for a moment Punk thought it was over, that Eve was going to get away, but Cena recovered too quickly, grabbing a handful of Eve's long hair before she could get to the door and throwing her across the room, far enough that, given the angle at which the camera had been sitting, she was just barely in the frame.

"This isn't over, you little bitch."

"Yes, it is. I did everything you told me to do. I lied to the Bellas and let it look like I planned this. I went to that ring and fucking humiliated myself. I let you look like the big man, talking trash to a woman. Clearly I'm the evil bitch. Everyone thinks that I used you, used Zack... And you've got them so blinded that they'll never stop to wonder just exactly what I got out of supposedly using the two of you... Besides getting chased by Kane for six weeks, of course. You're the hero again. No one has a clue that you're really a giant asshole. Not unless I talk," Eve told him, and Cena reached out, jerking her up by her arms.

"You're not going to talk. Because if you do, I will shut you up. And besides that... No one's going to listen to you. Not after tonight. You're a joke. You're pathetic. I win. You lose. And if you even think of trying to change things, I will make your life miserable," he told her and despite the bad angle on the camera, despite the fact that Cena was half-hiding her with his bulk, Punk still saw exactly what it was that Eve did then.

She spat in Cena's face.

Punk cringed as John drew back to hit her, but Eve was faster than that, ducking the blow and dragging her high heel down his shin in a move that had to hurt Cena... The diva hurrying over to the door and opening it, sending a glare in Cena's direction. "You already have made my life miserable. And now? I expect you to stay the hell out of it," she declared before leaving the room, and Kofi reached out to stop the video, then turned to look at Punk. His brows lifted as he looked down at the WWE champion's hands, and it took CM Punk a moment to realize that his hands were fisted... And that he'd actually crushed the plastic water bottle he'd been holding.

"I'm going to fucking kill him. He put his hands on her. The fact that he's pretty much destroying her reputation in an effort to make himself look good pisses me the hell off, too... But he fucking put his hands on her. He's paying."

"I'm right there with you, man," Kofi said. "But what do we do? We attack him, he realizes why... He's going to think Eve talked, and I don't know what he'll do to her. And the sick thing is that people are going to think that she deserves it-"

"No, they won't," Punk snapped out. "Because they're going to know."

"Punk-"

"You have it on tape. Cena wants the fans to think he's wonderful? To hate Eve so that she can't tell the truth? He wants his buddy Zack back? Well, fuck that. We are putting that tape on RAW next week, and people are going to see what he did. They're going to see, once and for all, exactly what kind of little boy John fucking Cena is. And if he ever goes after Eve again? He's going to have to go through me."


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks so much for the reviews so far; I really appreciate them. :)

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Three

Kofi Kingston looked up at the sound of the locker room door opening, the man not at all surprised to see CM Punk step into the room considering the fact that it was the WWE champion's locker room that the man was hanging out in. "Is she here yet?" Kofi asked, and Punk shook his head.

"Nope. They say she will be, but... There's no exact time she has to be here. She's on the card to wrestle, but it's pretty late in the show. If she knows it's a late match, then... Odds are, after last week, Eve won't show up until the show's already started, then she'll leave when it's over. We won't have time to tell her. If she'd been at live events this past weekend..."

"But she wasn't," Kofi said, then frowned. "I heard something, too. Kelly, actually... Who, by the way, is a shitty friend if you ask me considering some of the things she was saying. Anyway... I heard her mention that Eve was scheduled to be on the house shows we just finished up until last Sunday. At the Elimination Chamber, she came up with some family business that had to be taken care of and asked off. Since she never asks off, they gave it to her. And then, the next night on RAW..."

"The shit hit the fan. Which means at that point Cena had probably already gotten to her and pretty much told her what he wanted her to do last Monday. She already knew she was going to be humiliated. Probably didn't want to face the rest of us," Punk muttered, then heaved out a sigh. "He's such a dick."

"Yeah, not gonna disagree with you there," the other man said, then looked over at Punk. "I get why you're doing this, but... I wish she knew what we were going to do."

"We tried to tell her. You called her. I direct messaged her on Twitter and asked her to call me... She didn't respond to either of us."

Kofi looked down to study his hands. "She probably thought we expected an explanation from her. Eve doesn't know we already have one. A real one. The one John Cena don't want anyone to know," the man said, and Punk's expression darkened at the mention of the other man.

"Cena's not going to get what he wants this time. Whole damn company - and the entire viewing audience - is going to know what he did this time. And I wish we'd had a chance to warn Eve we were going to play it. She deserves to know. But she might have tried to stop us. This way... We'll just have to apologize afterwards."

"Punk-"

"She might hate us for this. I can live with that. But I'm not going to let John Cena act like he's some damn hero when I know damn good and well that he knocked a woman around last week." He paused, jerking a hand through his hair, then spoke again, not looking at Kofi. "I figured the language was a little too rough for the USA network, so I took it to someone I know that could work audio. Got all the f-bombs bleeped out, and anything else that he thought would be necessary. That way, the network is less likely to cut away when the video airs. People are more likely to see it, and they'll be more likely to hate Cena as much as I do."

"Some people aren't going to want to believe it," Kofi muttered. "Some idiots will try and find an excuse-"

"There is no excuse."

"Don't mean some people won't try to find one. People don't like to learn that their heroes are actually assholes," Kofi said, then arched a brow, looking over at Punk. "He might go after Eve, you know."

"I figure he'll try damage control first. Somehow turn it around on her. Hopefully he won't have a chance. I figure that, once it airs on the show, it'll be up on youtube - several times - within an hour or two. You know it will. People post segments of the show all the time, and it will just keep getting posted. It will be out there. People will see it. And they'll see that John Cena apparently has no problem with knocking around a woman that is probably quite literally half his weight. And then they'll listen. They'll hear what's being said. That everything Eve said and did last week was because Cena made her say it and do it. And considering the fact that the bastard tossed her around his locker room like it was nothing, they'll hopefully be smart enough to realize why she felt she had to do it."

"You know, in the video... He said no one would believe her if she told. You know, if she told what had happened. It won't be her words against his with this. We've got video proof, but... If she'd told the truth... Would we have believed her? Or would we have proven Cena right?" Kofi asked, his voice soft, and Punk could tell it was troubling him, probably had been since the week before. Truth was, the thought that been bugging Punk, too.

"I don't know. Not a good answer, but... That's what I've got. I don't really know. There's no way to know for sure because she didn't come to us, didn't tell us. I'm not a big Cena fan, but... The thought that he would knock a woman around... I remember him doing his finishing move on divas before. Most specifically Lita. Always in the ring. Either in a match, or when she interfered in a match. Outside the ring, he always went after Edge. Just Edge. But then again... The cameras were always on then. Would he have gone after Lita if he'd known there wasn't a camera around? I don't know. I know he's the type to like an ambush. The way he took out the rest of the Nexus before his match against Wade Barrett - that was more than a year ago now - shows that. I know he has a mean streak. But I don't know... But if Eve had come to me and looked me in the eye and told me she needed help... I'd like to think I would have given it to her. Even if the person she said she needed help against was John Cena. Because even the golden boy can have a dark side."

"And obviously, John Cena is one that does," Kofi said, then sighed. "So it's ready?"

"Yup."

"Are you sure they'll air it?"

"I talked to someone in the production truck. He doesn't know what's on it, but he'll air it."

"When will he air it?"

"We've got it worked out. It'll air. And John Cena's little plan? Is going to blow up in his fucking face."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Four

He stood in the backstage area, the man staring at the monitor in front of him, his hands clenched into fists as he watched John Cena in the ring, the man acting like he didn't have a care in the world beyond the fact that he would be facing the Rock at WrestleMania. The man acting like he hadn't tossed a woman around in his locker room just seven days ago. Like he hadn't threatened her into acting the part of a manipulative bitch when she was anything but. Like he hadn't shoved a woman into the role of the villain of the piece when it was actually Cena himself that was the bad guy.

Damn, but he wanted to kick Cena in the skull. Repeatedly. And then? He wanted to do it again.

Taking a deep breath, he made his way toward the stairs that led to the stage, knowing that neither the Rock nor John Cena - the two men that were opening the show - would appreciate the interruption. But, quite frankly, he didn't give a shit what either man thought. Because while he didn't think the Rock had ever stooped as low as Cena had the week before, CM Punk wasn't much of a fan of the 'Great One', either. The man was an egomaniac that only cared about himself... And maybe what he could get trending on twitter. It was pathetic, it was annoying, and it was going to be a waste of twenty minutes of show-time every week until WrestleMania.

The crowd reacted with a cheer when his music sounded... They didn't care that the Rock and Cena were being interrupted, possibly because it was him and they thought he was coming out to say something entirely inappropriate. That was fine; he didn't care if they thought that. The fans would find out soon enough why it was that he'd actually come out there tonight. Given the looks of annoyance on the faces of the two men in the ring, they weren't thrilled with the fact that he had the nerve to come out there during their time, but he didn't give a shit. Fuck them and what they wanted.

Pasting a reasonable facsimile of a smile on his face - or what he hoped was one - Punk brought the microphone in his hand up to his mouth, waiting for the sound of his music to fade away before he spoke. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting something? Were the two of you doing something out here? You know, besides recycling the same old insults from last year?" he questioned, careful to keep the same kind of tone he usually did. He didn't want Cena to immediately know that he was pissed. He wanted this to be a surprise. He didn't want Cena to have a clue what to expect. He wanted to blindside the bastard.

Rock glared at him. "Now listen here, Punk-"

"Now, Rock... I'm not here to cause any problems. For once," Punk interrupted, not caring that Rock looked beyond pissed that he'd just interrupted him. The guy would just have to get over it. And if he didn't? Maybe he'd knock Rock flat, too. He didn't really care right now. "You see, Rock... I came out here for a reason. I came out here because I don't think you know just what type of guy you're facing at WrestleMania this year."

Cena cleared his throat as he watched the WWE champion entered the ring. It was clear he didn't entirely trust CM Punk, which was fair enough. Punk sure as hell didn't want the bastard to think they were buddies or something. "Look, man-"

"No, no... Please. Let me do this. I really need to do this," Punk said, trying to sound earnest and friendly when all he wanted to do was drive his fist into Cena's face. He turned to the Rock because acting like he didn't want to cause John Cena severe pain was really giving him some problems. He hadn't realized that it would be this difficult. He'd never been a big Cena fan, but he'd never wanted to hurt him quite so badly before. Of course, he'd never seen a video of the man knocking around a woman before last week, either.

"You are trying the Rock's patience, boy," the self-proclaimed 'Great One' said, and Punk gave him a look.

"I try a lot of people's patience. So just count yourself among 'one of the millions'," he told him, then continued. "I'm trying to help you out, though. Really, I am. See, I don't think that you realize what sort of a man you're going to be facing on April first. What kind of person that John Cena really is. You need to see this... I think everybody really needs to see this. It will show us all just what kind of guy that John Cena really is. The kinds of things he does for people," Punk stated, noting the look on Cena's face when he spared a quick glance at the man. Stupidly, Cena didn't even look suspicious. He probably thought that it would be some sort of a tribute video... But even so, even not knowing what type of footage Punk was about to show, he should have been suspicious. He should have figured it would be, at the very least, a blooper reel of embarrassing moments or something.

Clearing his throat, Punk lifted the mic again. "Guys... It's time to play the tape," he said, though he kept his back to the huge screen it would be playing on, not wanting to see it again. He could hear it, though. The sound system in the arena was good - seemingly too good - because it was impossible not to hear every little thing that was happening on that tape. The tears in Eve's voice. The pain beneath the tears. The angry and condescending tone of John Cena. Punk flinched at the crashing sound that he knew was Eve being tossed across the room... The WWE champion watching as John Cena registered what was being seen, what it was that was being shown to every last fan in the arena as well as all the workers and anyone watching at home. The shock at being caught, the horror at realizing that other people were watching it... The fury at the knowledge that Punk had planned this.

As the tape finished, fading into static after Eve had finally escaped... After Eve had been yelled at, yanked around by her hair and tossed around like a rag doll... After the diva had ducked a punch from Cena and managed to get away from him... After it was finally over, the crowd was silent, utterly shocked at what they'd just seen... The Rock had actually gone to the corner and slumped there, leaning against the ropes as he looked on, completely stunned. Clearly he'd never expected John Cena, the WWE's golden boy, to treat a woman that way.

"You little bastard," Cena ground out, too furious to even think about damage control at the moment, the man lunging for Punk, but Punk ducked the wild blow, driving his knee hard into Cena's gut instead, and when John went reeling from that, he got him up on his shoulders, then dropped him down with the GTS, his knee slamming hard into Cena's face... The drops of blood that appeared almost instantly on the mat telling him that he'd given Cena a bloody nose, maybe even a broken one. He was glad.

Shaking his head, Punk reached down for the microphone he'd dropped, bringing it up to his mouth and speaking again, directing his words to the Rock. "Up until last week, I was rooting for Cena at WrestleMania. Then I saw that," he said, jerking a thumb toward the screen. "Now, I hope you kick his ass all over Miami. But you damn well better leave something of him when you're done. Because whatever's left of Cena after WrestleMania? Is mine."

And with that, Punk dropped the microphone on Cena, who was trying to get up to his hands and knees... A well-placed kick from CM Punk sending him crashing down again. And then, CM Punk turned, climbed out of the ring, and walked away.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks for the reviews so far.

Part Five

She entered the arena cautiously, looking very much like someone that didn't want to be caught as she stepped inside the hallway of the arena. The hood of her jacket was pulled up, covering her long hair and putting her face in shadow, but she knew that there was really no way to disguise who she was... And it was ridiculous to try. Even so, she'd pulled the hood up anyway, as far as it would go, far enough that it cut into her peripheral vision as she slowly made her way down the hall. She knew that she had a match tonight, which was the main reason she was here... Otherwise, she might have tried to find a way to skip out on RAW this week... And she kind of hated herself for that. For the urge to hide. She'd never really been the 'run away and hide' type, but after last week, she wished desperately for a bit of a reprieve. Just another week to settle herself, to get her bearings... To resign herself to the role that people undoubtedly expected her to play now.

And that's all it was, really. A role to play. It wasn't her. No matter what anyone else thought, it really wasn't her. And it wasn't like she was even the only one that was playing a role. After all, John Cena had people convinced that he was a caring, wonderful human being... Instead of the abusive asshole that she'd discovered him to be. If he could convince people he was a nice guy, surely she could convince people she was an unfeeling bitch. And that was the biggest part of it for her - unfeeling. That was the goal. To just go out there and act like it didn't matter. Like she didn't care. Because after the humiliation of last week? She'd be damned before she let anyone see her cry again. Before she let anyone see that she cared. That it hurt.

"Eve! Eve, if I could have a moment of your time!"

Well, so much for getting to a locker room without anyone seeing her. At the sound of someone saying her name, Eve Torres stiffened slightly, there was a slight hitch in her step, but then she forced herself to continue, the diva giving a shake of her head. "No comment," she stated, barely glancing at Matt Striker as he approached her with a microphone in hand, the woman frowning when she saw the look on his face. It wasn't derision or malice she saw there. It almost looked like... sympathy? But why in the world would Matt Striker feel any sympathy for her after last week? John Cena had made damn sure that she would look unsympathetic. That she would look like a manipulative bitch.

"Eve, please, if I could just get your reaction-"

"I have a match to prepare for," the woman said, hoping he wouldn't ask what match, because to tell the truth, she didn't even know if it was a singles match or a tag team match, much less who her opponent was. She just knew she had a match.

Striker frowned at her. "But after what happened last week, do you even feel able to compete in a match?" he asked, and Eve stopped walking then, confused by the man's question, the diva reaching up to pull back the hood of her jacket as she looked at the man.

"Being humiliated by John Cena didn't render me incapable of competing," she informed him, knowing her voice sounded a bit brittle but unable to keep her voice sounding smooth.

Striker just stood there and blinked for a moment, surprise on his face, and Eve found herself wondering what in the hell was going on. All anyone in the company - besides herself and John Cena, of course - knew about the week before was that she'd apparently been 'using' Zack and John in some way (she'd never been quite sure what she was supposedly using them for) and that she'd been caught at it. They didn't know what had happened in Cena's locker room just minutes later. They didn't know about what he'd done... and she had body makeup with her to cover any bruises that would given people a clue about it.

"You don't know, do you?" Striker finally asked her, and Eve shook her head.

"Know what? I just got here... Like two minutes ago. I have no idea what's happened on the show so far, and if John freaking Cena was a part of it? Then I don't want to know-"

"You don't know about the video?" Striker questioned, and the diva frowned, an odd feeling settling over her. Obviously, there was something that she was missing - something that had led Matt Striker of all people to look at her with sympathy - but she didn't know what it was.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. What video?" she wanted to know, but Striker didn't get a chance to answer because someone else came up then, interrupting the interview.

"There you are! Oh, are you okay?" Natalya of all people wanted to know, the diva striding down the hallway with concern on her face, and Eve tried not to appear too shocked when the woman - a woman that she hadn't had a decent conversation with in months - reached out and gave her a hug.

"I... What's going on?"

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that I ever thought... " Natalya shook her head. "Come on, we should go-"

"I was trying to interview Eve-"

"Well, the interview's over," Natalya informed Striker and, for once, Eve was fine with the other woman's rather blunt nature, because she had no idea what in the hell was going on and was perfectly happy to let someone else take over for a moment. As Nattie wrapped an arm securely around her shoulders, Eve fought the urge to flinch as the diva's arm came into contact with a bruise that hadn't healed yet, and while the blonde stiffened slightly herself, the other woman didn't say a word about her reaction, instead just leading her away... Sending Matt Striker and his cameraman a glare that promised there would be hell to pay if they attempted to follow.

"I have no idea what's going on," Eve managed, the woman still in a bit of shock. She looked over at Natalya. "Weren't you shocked and appalled by my behavior last week?"

"Momentarily. But now I'm instead shocked and appalled by John Cena's behavior and I really hope that he has a broken nose right now," the diva stated, then looked over at Eve. "You have no clue about the video, do you?"

"What video?" Eve wanted to know, stopping in her tracks and turning to look at the Canadian woman. "What video, Natalya?"

"The one of what happened last week in John Cena's locker room," the woman stated bluntly, watching as Eve grew pale. "Yeah. You definitely didn't know."

"What... How? Who..."

"Don't know how he got it, but I can tell you who came down to the ring and had them air it," the woman said, and Eve nodded.

"Tell me. I need to know."

"CM Punk. And for the record? If Cena currently has a broken nose? Punk's the one that gave it to him."


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks to those that have reviewed so far. Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Six

She stood in front of the mirror in the locker room, frowning slightly as she looked at herself, then glancing over her shoulder at the blonde woman in the room with her. "Why, exactly, are we in a locker room that has Randy Orton's name on the door?" Eve Torres wanted to know, and Natalya shrugged her shoulders.

"He made the offer. After what aired earlier, he figured you wouldn't want to be easy to find, so... He said we could use his locker room and he'd go and hang out with Sheamus since that's who he's teaming up with tonight," the Canadian told her. "I wasn't about to turn down the offer and... I figured he was right. Matt Striker ambushed you for an interview as soon as you got here, and I figure he's not the only one that would. Not to mention nosy people that we wouldn't be able to escape if we were in the divas' locker room. Like the Bella twins."

Eve made a face at the mention of the dark-haired divas. "True enough," she said, then sighed. "All I was told was that I have a match tonight. I don't even know who we're up against."

Natalya looked uncomfortable for a moment, then heaved out a sigh. "Not like I can hide it from you. Apparently, after last week, Kelly and Alicia both declared that they wanted to challenge you. Make you pay for what you'd pulled or whatever. Instead of sticking you in a handicap match, they gave you a partner. Me. And I'm guessing that after the video that CM Punk played earlier, Kelly and Alicia are regretting turning against you so quickly."

The brunette stood very still for a moment, then let out a breath. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. If they were my friends, they would have tried to say something to me. Instead, I saw that Kelly had posted nasty comments about me on twitter this afternoon. Probably to get herself amped up for the match tonight," Eve stated, trying not to sound hurt by it all and only partially successful. Sighing, she headed for her bag. "I have some body makeup to cover the bruises," she muttered as she made her way over, the diva still very self-conscious about the marks she bore from the week before. There was a nasty bruise on her shoulder from where she'd slammed into the wall and hit a bench when Cena had thrown her across the room, and there were more bruises on her arms from John's grasp when he'd yanked her to her feet and gotten in her face. She supposed she was lucky that it wasn't worse. After all, Cena had tried to hit her in the face, too. She'd just been quick enough to duck the blow before it hit her.

Natayla came over to where she was, reaching out for Eve's bag, then zipping it up. She gave the younger woman a look. "Don't cover them."

"But-"

"People saw what John Cena did to you. They know he hurt you. No getting around that. And if you cover the bruises? There are people out there that will use the fact that they didn't see any marks on you as some sort of reason for it to be okay. They'll rationalize it saying he didn't leave marks on you, so it's really not that bad, right? Leave the bruises uncovered. Let people see the proof that John Cena is an abusive asshole."

Eve heaved out a sigh, the diva sitting down heavily on the bench in the room, lifting her hands to her face. "I just... I can't help but... I'm ashamed, okay? Of what happened. That I was some weak little girl-"

"You were not weak, Eve. I saw that video that CM Punk played. I know what happened in that locker room. You kicked Cena in the nuts. When he got in your face, you spit in his. You ducked his punch, and probably scraped up his shin when you dragged your heel down it. You were not cowering in some corner from him. You did what you could to fight back, and you got away. No scared, weak little girl is going to spit in the face of a man the size of John Cena," Natalya told her. "Those bruises don't make you weak; they just make John Cena a complete asshole. And the fact that you're here tonight, with those bruises, and still getting in the ring? That makes you the opposite of weak. It makes you strong," Natalya said, and Eve stared up at her for a moment, the younger diva blinking in surprise at what the blonde had to say.

"Have you ever thought about a career in motivational speaking?" Eve wanted to know after a moment, and the other diva's face broke out with a smile.

"Maybe when I retire," she said after a moment, then gestured toward Eve's hair. "You should have your hair in a ponytail tonight, too."

"And what good would that do?"

"With your hair down, people wouldn't see the bruises as well. I'm serious, Eve. You should really give any jerks out there that might still want to give Cena the benefit of the doubt something to think about."

"Yeah, but the bruises will be like a big neon sign that says 'hit me here'," the other diva said, and the blonde shrugged.

"Maybe. But face it: you're tougher than Alicia or Kelly. And you have me as a partner. If you're in trouble, I have no problem knocking those two on their asses. Not to mention the fact that I intend to be the one to start the match, and I'll only tag you in at the opportune time," Natalya said, arching a brow when Eve looked like she was going to protest. "Whether those bruises are covered or not, they still exist. We both know it. You're not at your best. I imagine your shoulder really hurt-"

"It's better now. I can wrestle tonight."

"I'm sure you can. That doesn't mean that I'm not going to do my best to keep you from getting knocked around worse than you have been. We're partners tonight. I want to win."

"So do I."

"Good," Natalya said, then sighed, putting her hands on her hips and frowning as Eve made her way over to the mirror again, this time with hair ties around her wrist as the younger of the divas started pulling her long hair up into a ponytail. "You know... I get why CM Punk aired that video. I don't think Cena deserved to get away with it, either, I just... It might have been nice if he'd told you about it first," the blonde commented, watching as Eve froze suddenly, the diva's eyes going wide. "What?"

"I... He direct messaged me. Every day last week. Asking me to call him. I never... I thought that he..."

"You thought he was going to be like every else and talk trash or demand an explanation," Nattie said, and Eve nodded.

"Yeah. I didn't know he already knew the truth. He tried to tell me, Natalya. I'm sure of it. If I'd called him, he would have told me what he planned to do..."

"Would you have tried to convince him not to do it?" the blonde asked, and Eve frowned for a moment, then heaved out a sigh.

"Probably."

"Then I'm glad you didn't call him back. I'm glad he aired that video. Cena deserved it."

"I know."


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks to those that have reviewed so far. Disclaimer, etc., is in the first part.

Part Seven

He rubbed his hands over his face, the man muttering to himself and fighting the urge to kick something. As he heard the door to his locker room open, he lowered his hands and looked up, surprised to find Tamina Snuka standing in the doorway.

"Um... Yeah? I mean, can I help you? Or... Why are you here?" Punk finally managed to ask, the man not sure why he was stumbling over his words. Maybe because he was so freaked out over the fact that he knew Eve Torres was in the building, but he couldn't fucking find her. He had no idea where she was, and he was worried that Cena would find her first. And he knew - he just *knew* - that, despite her confused reaction when Matt Striker had tried to interview her about the video, John Cena was going to blame her for it airing. Cena would go after Eve, and Punk had no hope of protecting the woman if he couldn't freaking find her.

Tamina crossed her arms over her chest. "I ran into Kofi earlier. He asked me to check the divas' locker room for Eve. I did, because I figure he's a decent guy that won't stand for what John Cena did to Eve. She's not there and, to the best of my knowledge, hasn't been there yet tonight. I can tell you this: Natalya's stuff isn't there, either, and she's Eve's tag team partner in their match against Alicia and Kelly tonight."

"Alicia and Kelly?" Punk echoed. He'd realized that Natalya was Eve's tag team partner thanks to the fact that the blonde woman had interrupted the interview with Striker earlier, but he hadn't known who they would be facing. He'd figured it would be the Bella twins, not... Not two people that had, just a week ago, claimed to be Eve's best friends.

"Yup. You think those two are smart enough to actually feel like total bitches now? Or do you think they're trying to justify it by saying they couldn't have possibly known. I mean... It's not like they could have asked her or anything. Oh, right. They could have," the diva said, shaking her head in annoyance. "As far as I know, those two aren't even trying to get out of the match. Anyway... My point is, if you're looking for Eve, she's probably with Natalya. The problem being... No one knows where Natalya is, either. I'd start checking any storage closet that's big enough to change clothes in if I were you."

"Do you know if Cena's looking for her?" Punk asked, and Tamina shrugged her shoulders.

"The Bella twins like to gossip. Last I heard, they were saying that he was still with the trainers being checked for a broken nose. Unfortunately, they think you may have just bloodied it, not actually broken it."

"I'll have to do better next time," he said, and the diva nodded her head.

"You do that. In the meantime, I'm going to keep wandering the hallways. If I hear anything to let me know where Natalya and Eve are, I'll check it out, then send them here to you... I'm assuming that's what you want, right?" the woman asked, and he nodded.

"Yeah. I... I put this in motion. Eve had no idea what I was doing. I couldn't get in touch with her, and... I couldn't let that bastard get away with it."

"Eve will understand."

"Maybe she will. And maybe she'll hate me. I can deal with it if she hates me. She can hate me all she wants, and I'm still going to try and keep Cena the hell away from her from here on out," he said, and Tamina nodded, then started to duck out of the room, pausing to look back at him.

"It's strange, you know."

"What is?" Punk asked, and the diva shrugged.

"That you turn out to be the hero, and Cena's the villain."

"I'm no hero, Tamina-"

"If you keep John Cena from putting his hands on Eve again... Yes, you are," she said, the woman slipping out of the room, leaving Punk alone again. She hadn't closed the door behind her, though, leaving it open, and the WWE champion made his way over to it, intending to shut it again, the man wanting a minute to gather his thoughts before he went off in search of Eve again... Freezing when he realized that someone else was standing at his door. He arched a brow as he looked up into the blue eyes of Randy Orton.

"What? You here to tell me how mad you are about what I did to your best buddy?" Punk tossed out, and one side of Orton's mouth curved into something that was almost a smile.

"What? You think Cena and I are really that close? Think about my history with him. It's much longer and much worse than my history with you," the Apex Predator said, and Punk couldn't exactly deny the truth of that statement. If he remembered correctly, Orton had actually once kicked John Cena's dad in the head. Not to mention the 'I Quit' match and iron man match the two had been involved in over the years.

"Yeah. You've got a point there," the Straight Edge superstar said. "So what are you doing here?"

"I like Eve. Never had a problem with her. Sure as hell don't think that she deserved what happened to her last week. After you aired the video, I went and found out what Eve's match was tonight, then I tracked down Natalya."

"Her tag team partner."

"Well, Eve wasn't here yet. I was teaming with Sheamus, so I talked to him, and he was cool with me hanging out in his locker room, so I gave mine to Eve and Natalya. I figured that Cena wouldn't look for Eve in a room that had my name on the door. Divas' locker room... Your locker room... Yeah. But not mine."

"So... All this time, she's been in your locker room?" Punk asked, relief slamming through him, because he figured that Orton's reasoning was right. Cena wouldn't look for the diva there. He'd never consider the idea that Orton might give her refuge. Hell, Punk hadn't considered it himself.

"I'm assuming so. That's where Natalya would have taken her. Nattie was worried about her, Punk. She'll look after her."

"I'm sure she will, but... I need to go and find them," he said, starting to brush past Orton, stopping when the other man spoke again.

"You might not want to check my locker room for them now. I remember the match schedule. Their match is next," Randy said, and Punk nodded, turning down the hallway and heading off in the other direction instead, heading toward the curtain area that led to the ring. Because while so far, Eve had been hidden in Orton's locker room, as soon as she stepped out onto that stage, Cena would know where she was, and he might just come after her.

Punk wasn't about to let that happen.


	8. Chapter 8

disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks once again to those that have reviewed. I really appreciate the kind words, and I'm glad you're enjoying the story. :)

Part Eight

Natalya insisted that they both walk out to Eve's music instead of using separate entrances or walking out to her own music. And despite knowing about the video that had been aired earlier by CM Punk - a video that Eve hadn't seen yet... Despite knowing that CM Punk had attacked John Cena and made it clear that he was on her side... She still hadn't been sure what to expect. Would the fans still hate her for kissing Cena two weeks ago, something that she now wished had never happened? The move had just happened, she'd just been so relieved... That hadn't been something that John Cena had orchestrated. Neither had the fact that she had told Zack that she only wanted to be friends. Of course, what the fans didn't know about that night was that it wasn't the first time she'd told Zack that nothing was going to happen between them. It wasn't even the second or third time, probably not even the fourth. She'd lost count of how many times she'd told Zack that she thought friendship would be best for them but, until she'd gone with the emotion of the moment and planted one on Cena after he'd saved her, he hadn't seemed to quite grasp the fact that she was serious.

"Eve? It's time," Natalya said softly from next to her, and Eve shook herself a bit, pulling herself from her thoughts and making her way out onto the stage with Natalya next to her. She was too nervous to do her usual pose, the brunette just standing on the stage for a moment before she and Nattie started making their way down the ramp, Eve all too aware of the shock of the crowd as they saw the bruises that she had. Beyond the shock that was almost palpable, however, she could hear people starting to cheer for her, even distinctly picking out a group of several voices - probably people that were attending the show together - calling out 'we love you, Eve'. The sound of it brought the smallest of smiles to her face, though the diva was still nowhere near her usual level of enthusiasm as she entered the ring alongside Natalya. Alicia and Kelly were already in the ring, having walked out together a few moments before, and Kelly was staring at the bruises on Eve's arms in horror, the woman looking shocked, almost like, until she saw the marks on Eve, she hadn't really believed what she'd seen in the video earlier.

"Eve, we didn't know," Kelly tried to say, but the brunette shook her head, making her way over to where Justin Roberts stood, Eve holding out her hand for the microphone.

"May I?" she asked, and the man quickly nodded, his eyes flicking over her bruises as he handed her the microphone.

"Of course," he told her, stepping back into the corner as she took the microphone from him, the diva ignoring the sympathetic looks she was receiving from both him and the referee for the match as she lifted the microphone to her lips, turning to look at Kelly and Alicia.

"I thought that you two were my friends. And you say that you didn't know the truth. But the thing is, Kelly... Alicia... You didn't ask. It's been a week, and neither one of you even tried to contact me at all. Not once. You didn't even wait until we saw each other again. Instead, you challenged me to a match. Both of you. I don't know if you wanted a singles match against me or if you wanted a handicap match with the two of you against just me... All I know is that I got Natalya as a partner instead, and I'm grateful for that," she said, looking over at the Canadian diva, who was watching her steadily.

"Eve, please," Kelly said, the diva trying again, but Eve shook her head.

"No. Because you see, Kelly, I follow you on Twitter. Or, at least, I used to. Until today, when I went on and found what you'd said about me. Calling me names and saying I'm a skank. You never asked me for the truth. Not once did you ask me what was going on, so I'm guessing you just didn't care. You jumped on the 'we hate Eve' bandwagon and never looked back. You threw away years of friendship because of five minutes that weren't even really me."

"I didn't know!"

"You could have asked! You could have used logic and realized that the only thing I ever got by being around John Cena was chased by Kane... And as of last week, knocked around and called nasty names. I guess he did me one favor, though. He taught me who my real friends are. It seems like I don't really have many," she said, shaking her head when Kelly tried to say something else. "Ring the bell," Eve told the referee, handing Justin the microphone back, refusing to look anyone in the eye as she headed to the center of the ring, getting in position for the match... Natalya shaking her head.

"Eve, no. Let me start," the blonde woman said, but Eve shook her head in response.

"I can do this," Eve told her, and Natalya frowned.

"But you shouldn't have to," she stated, moving to stand in front of her tag team partner, sending her a pleading look, and it was then that Kelly and Alicia apparently decided that if they were going to do this, they may as well go all in on it, because the pair of them grabbed Natalya from behind and attacked her, making sure that she was the one to start the match instead of Eve. And despite the fact that they'd gone after their healthy opponent and not the injured one, the crowd didn't appear to like their actions, giving the two of them a resounding chorus of boos for their efforts. For her part, Eve managed to yank Alicia off of Natalya and send the woman out of the ring before the referee forced her to go out onto the ring apron, leaving Kelly and Natalya in there alone... And Kelly facing some abuse from the blonde Canadian woman. Natalya wasn't holding back at all, the woman apparently furious over the fact that Kelly and Alicia had attacked her from behind... Not to mention angry over how Eve had been treated by the two of them. For a moment, it looked like the match would be a short one and that Eve would never even get into the match, but that was when it happened.

John Cena's music hit.

Eve froze at the sound of it, her hands starting to shake as all the action in the ring suddenly stopped, everyone turning to watch as a very angry-looking John Cena appeared on the stage, the man stalking towards the ring... Eve feeling as frozen as she had the first time Kane's music had started to play when she was in the ring for a match, but there was no one to save her this time.

Or, she realized as she saw Cena get hit from behind, another man nearly tackling him to the ramp... Maybe there was someone around to save her.

CM Punk.


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks so much for all the reviews so far (the previous part especially!) Glad you're enjoying the fic. :)

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Nine

An intergender tag match.

Eve pressed her lips together, trying desperately not to think about what could happen in a match like that... A match like the one that her divas' tag team match had just been changed into. John Laurinaitis had seemed quite pleased with himself when he'd come out there, standing on the stage and smirking as he declared that the match that hadn't really gotten much of a chance to start yet would indeed happen... Just with two extra participants. John Cena, bloodstains still obvious on his shirt from where Punk had bloodied his nose earlier, would be added to Kelly and Alicia's team. CM Punk would be teaming up with her and Natalya.

"It's going to be okay," CM Punk said, the man turning to look at his impromptu tag team partners... His gaze moving over the bruises that were very evident on Eve's arms and on her back, up near her shoulder. She could see the fury in his eyes as he looked at the marks, the violence in his gaze, but when he reached out to trail his fingers over her cheek, his touch was extremely gentle. "I'm not going to let him touch you." His gaze moved over to Natalya. "Does it matter if we lose?"

The blonde woman blinked in confusion. "Excuse me?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure I'll be able to keep from getting disqualified if I'm in the ring with him," Punk stated, the violence still there in his eyes, and Natalya smiled slightly at that.

"Well, if that's the case, I don't mind at all," the Canadian told him, and the man nodded, starting to escort the women to the corner so they could get out onto the ring apron - he intended to start the match himself - but apparently Alicia wasn't having that because once Punk had gotten Eve on the apron, the woman had gone to attack Natalya again, and the referee sent CM Punk onto the apron with Eve, indicating that Alicia and Natalya would be the ones starting the match.

As he took up a spot on the apron next to Eve, Punk yanked the shirt he was wearing off over his head. When he'd come out there, he'd been wearing the shirt and a pair of cut-off sweatpants on over his wrestling gear and, for the moment, he was leaving the sweats on, looking like he didn't want to take the time to get rid of them, the man instead glaring across the ring at Cena. He wasn't the only one glaring, however... From his corner, Cena was glaring right back at them and Eve knew all too well that John was wishing to get her stuck in the ring against him. Apparently, now that his secret was out, now that there was video and her bruises to prove the kind of person he really was, he just didn't care anymore and all he wanted was to get his hands on her.

"He won't touch you," CM Punk said suddenly, his hand coming to cover hers where it rested on the ring ropes, and Eve looked over at the man. The man that had taken it upon himself to air the video from the week before... A video that she still had no idea how he had gotten hold of. But he had gotten his hands on it, and he had made sure it aired, and she knew that he had tried to let her know before hand. He wouldn't have tried to contact her every day the week before if he hadn't wanted to warn her.

"You can't promise that."

"Yes, I can," Punk said, turning his attention to the ring as Natalya made her way back over, the diva quickly tagging him in. The truth was, she probably could have gone for the pin against Alicia, but it seemed she was more interested in letting CM Punk get in there against John Cena.

And that's exactly what she got.

Alicia's eyes widened in horror as she saw that CM Punk had gotten into the ring, but the man didn't make a move toward her, instead arching a brow at her. "I'm not like Cena. I don't hit women," the WWE champion stated, then pointed toward the corner that John Cena was standing at. For her part, Kelly was still standing on the floor instead of the apron, the diva continually sending John Cena uneasy looks, like maybe she was afraid he was going to go off on her like he had on Eve. And while that showed some intelligence on the blonde woman's part, it didn't change the fact that she had never once in the past week tried to find out the truth. It didn't change the fact that Kelly had made the challenge for a match... Or the fact that she'd said some pretty nasty things on Twitter.

After Alicia hurriedly tagged Cena into the match, Punk dove toward the corner, using the ropes for leverage and giving John a knee to the face before the man even managed to get in the ring. With Cena reeling a bit, Punk grabbed him and dragged him the rest of the way into the ring, unleashing a flurry of kicks to every part of John that he could reach, not giving the man even a moment to get himself back together and get to his feet. Eve didn't think she'd ever seen Punk quite this angry, quite this vicious, and she wasn't sure how she felt about the fact that he was acting this way on her behalf.

"Damn," Natalya muttered, and Eve quickly glanced over at the diva next to her on the apron, noting the look of satisfaction on her face. She was enjoying seeing Cena get his ass handed to him... And, Eve had to admit, she was, too. Though she would probably enjoy it more from the safety of a room with a lock on it instead of being out there, technically a part of the match. Maybe that made her a wimp, but after last week, she just couldn't help it.

"Come on, Punk," Eve whispered, the diva cringing when Cena got a nasty blow in, knocking the other man to the mat, but Punk was back on the offensive quickly enough, the wrestler sending Cena into the ropes, then pressing his knee against the back of Cena's neck, forcing John's throat against the second rope, Punk grabbing hold of the rope to pull it even tighter. The referee quickly started to make the count, but Natalya took it upon herself to distract him by acting like she wanted to get involved in things, actually stepping inside the ring. That took the ref's eyes off what was happening, giving Punk the chance to keep the illegal move locked in, and when Eve saw Alicia start to come around to interfere, she couldn't help herself, the diva stepping down from the ring apron and hurrying around to the other side, leveling Alicia with a clothesline and sending her to the ground hard. As Kelly started to take a few tentative steps in her direction, Eve glared at the other woman, stopping her in her tracks, then turned back toward the ring. When she realized how close she was to the action - Punk was choking John on the ropes just a few feet away - she tensed, but then forced herself to step forward. Cena was red-faced, trying to pull the ropes away from his neck, but he was still glaring at her. But Eve glared right back, still afraid, but suddenly angry as well, her anger overriding her fear as she stood there, looking at the man that had left bruises on her and humiliated her. Her eyes narrowed, Eve took a step back, as if she intended to walk away...

...But then she turned back again, drawing her hand back and putting every bit of force she was capable of into it as she punched Cena in the face.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks to all that have read and reviewed so far.

Part Ten

They lost the match.

It wasn't really all that surprising and, to be quite honest about it, none of them cared. Natalya had only been able to keep the referee distracted for so long, and CM Punk had been determined to choke John Cena out on the ring ropes, so it had only been a matter of time before they'd been disqualified. Punk had been the only one from their team still in the ring when the ref had made the call and, after a vicious kick to the back of the half-conscious Cena's head, the man had exited the ring, hopping down from the ring apron and landing a few feet away from Eve. He'd reached out to put his arm around her shoulders as he led her away, Natalya coming up on her other side, the trio heading up the ramp... Passing by the Rock as the man made his way back down. In all that had happened that night, Eve had actually forgotten that the Rock was there tonight - after all, she hadn't been there when his confrontation with Cena had been interrupted by Punk and the video from the week before - so she'd been a bit surprised to see the man heading toward the ring. He'd nodded at them as he passed by, his eyes lingering on Eve's bruises for a moment, the man walking resolutely to the ring where Cena was trying to get to his feet. As Cena had turned around, rubbing at his throat, he'd walked right into a Rock Bottom. Rock had skipped the People's Elbow, though, instead going directly into the sharpshooter, something that had made Natalya smile a bit. Not surprising since that was a move that the Canadian diva liked to use herself.

"You two okay?" Punk asked quietly as he led the two of them through the curtains to the back, his arm still wrapped carefully around Eve's shoulders... At least until the group reached the steps, which they had to go down one at a time. Natalya led the way, Eve following, and while he couldn't have her arm around her any longer, Punk still kept his hand lightly on her shoulder as they made their way down. Natalya was the one that answered his question.

"I'm fine. Great, actually. I particularly enjoyed the way you made John Cena's face turn beet red by forcing his throat against the ropes," the blonde said with a smirk, and Punk nodded at that, waiting until they'd made it down the steps before turning to Eve.

"What about you?"

"I'm okay."

"And how much do you hate me for what I did?" Punk questioned, moving so that he and Eve were face to face, the wrestler meeting her eyes. She shook her head.

"I... I don't... I just... I should have called you. You asked me to call you."

"And you probably thought that I wanted an explanation from you. You didn't know that I already knew the truth," he said quietly, watching as Eve bit her lip, the diva looking like she was debating about saying something. "What is it?"

"Kofi called me last week. A few times. I never answered or called him back. The two of you are friends. Did he...?"

Punk nodded. "He did. I'll explain everything to you, okay? Just not out in the hallway like we are," he said, and Eve nodded.

"Okay. Um... Nattie and I... Our stuff is kind of in Randy Orton's locker room-"

"Yeah, I know. He told me. He figured I was safe to tell and that I'd be worried about you and looking for you-"

"He also moved your stuff to Punk's locker room during the match," a new voice said, and they all turned to see Orton standing there, the man leaning his shoulder against the wall as he looked at them. He shrugged slightly and pushed himself away from the wall as they turned toward him. "Just Eve's stuff, though. I left Natalya's stuff where it was. I thought that, uh... Maybe Punk and Eve needed to talk. And Natalya and her things will be perfectly safe in my locker room. Especially if Cena's as banged up as he looked a few moments ago. And that was before Rock got his hands on him."

Punk nodded. "Thanks, man. For all the stuff you did tonight."

"No problem," he replied, then looked over at Eve, blue eyes calmly assessing her. Randy was pretty good at hiding emotion when he wanted to, but anyone could see the flare of anger in his gaze as he took in the bruises that were visible on the diva. "I'm glad we know the truth. He won't get his hands on you again." The Viper's gaze moved toward Natalya. "Come on. I'll walk you back to... Well, my locker room."

The blonde woman nodded, starting to head off with him, then turning to look back at Eve. "If I don't run into you again before the end of the show... I'll call you in the morning, okay? Maybe we can grab breakfast before we head to the airport to catch our respective flights or something."

"I'd like that," Eve said, smiling slightly at the other woman as she watched her head off with Orton... Then looking over at Punk, suddenly feeling nervous, though she wasn't sure why. After all, CM Punk was the guy that had gone out of his way to make sure everyone knew that Cena was the one that had orchestrated things the week before. That John was the bad guy, not her. And maybe that was why she was suddenly so nervous... Because CM Punk, a guy she didn't really know all that well, had gone out of his way to help her. He hadn't let Cena make her the bad guy, and he'd actually attacked John tonight. He'd shown the video, and he'd attacked Cena, and when John had tried to come out there to get at her... He'd come to the rescue then as well. He had protected her. He hadn't had to do any of it, but he had.

She pressed her lips together. "I don't know how... I don't know how to thank you."

"I was afraid you would hate me," he said quietly, then glanced around. "This isn't the place to talk about it all, though. Out in public like this. Your stuff's in my locker room now, so... Will you head that way with me?" Punk asked, holding out a hand to her, letting her make the decision whether she was ready to talk this out with him or not. After a moment, she reached out, placing her hand in his, feeling Punk's fingers carefully entwine with her own.

"Okay," she said softly, and Punk nodded, the man starting to lead her down the hallway, heading toward his locker room.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks to those that are still reading this one.

Part Eleven

She stepped into the locker room a bit hesitantly, her gaze sliding around the room, finding the things that Randy Orton had brought in there for her. Taking a deep breath, she made her way over to one of the benches in the room, carefully sitting down, lifting her head to look at the WWE champion. Eve pressed her lips together as she saw the way the man was staring at her, his gaze once more on the bruises that he could see. She shifted uncomfortably.

"I was going to cover them with makeup. Natalya told me not to. I..."

"There's no reason for you to be embarrassed, Eve. About what happened. Cena's a hell of a lot bigger than you. And you didn't deserve to be the one to take the blame last week," Punk told her, the man standing at the door to the room. His hand was on the deadbolt that would lock the door, but he waited for her to nod her assent before he actually locked it. "I figure we don't want anyone trying to stop by for an interview."

"Matt Striker already tried to interview me once," the diva whispered, watching Punk as he made his way over to where she was sitting, the man seating himself next to her. She took a deep breath as she looked over at him. "What I don't understand is... How did you get it? The video? Nattie said that it... She said that it showed what happened in John's locker room after... After everything. What he... What he did to me."

"He shoved you into the wall and he practically threw you across the room. And the things he said... I wished I was there. So I could have stopped it. So I could have ripped his damned head off," Punk told her, his hands clenching into fists as he sat there... The wrestler having to force himself to relax his hands, staring down at the floor. "It was hard to watch. But that's nothing compared to what it had to be like for you." He looked over at her. "Eve..."

"How did you get it, anyway? The video. Was it on surveillance, or... And why would you have looked for what happened, anyway? No one suspected-" She broke off when Punk reached out and carefully took hold of her hand in his own. His thumb moved over the back of her hand as he spoke.

"It was an accident, actually. Getting it on tape. Having a video camera on in there at all... Kofi had just bought a new camera, and Cena wanted to see it. He'd left it in Cena's locker room. According to Kofi, it's not the first time he's accidentally turned it on and recorded something he didn't mean to. When he went to get the camera, he saw that it was on, and when he rewound it to see what he'd accidentally recorded... He found what happened. We took it back to the hotel, and we watched it. I wasn't going to let him get away with what he did. So Ihad someone I knew that could mess with sound bleep out the words that would get the company in trouble, then I... I made sure it got aired tonight. I figured you would hate me."

"You wanted me to call you. Kofi tried to call me. I just... Ignored you both. That's on me."

"Not really. You had no idea what we wanted. You probably thought we wanted an explanation for what had happened. You had no way of knowing that we already knew," the wrestler said quietly. He looked over at her. "You have every right to hate me. For what we did. We just broadcast your business like that... But I just couldn't... He hurt you. Physically, emotionally. I wanted him to pay, and I thought it was bullshit that he made you look like the bad guy. It wasn't fair." Punk heaved out a sigh. "It felt good to kick the shit out of him. Really good. Not sure what that says about me."

"I kind of liked watching you kick the crap out of him," Eve said softly, turning her head to look at the man. "What does that say about me?"

"Well, considering the fact that you're the injured party here... Literally," he added, glancing at her bruises once more, "I think it just says that you wanted justice. He tried to ruin your reputation, and he knocked you around. Turnabout's fair play, especially since you never did anything wrong in the first place."

"I did kiss Cena two weeks ago. That really was me," she whispered, and Punk snorted.

"Temporary insanity caused by Kane-related trauma and the fact that you didn't know he was an asshole yet," the WWE champion countered, causing Eve to smile the slightest bit.

"Yeah, well, I figured that one out pretty quickly." She pressed her lips together, carefully removing her hand from Punk's grip, wrapping her arms around herself almost protectively. "I never... I kept putting off telling Zack how I felt. That I only wanted... I didn't want to hurt him, and then... I did. But... Every single time I tried to tell him that I just wanted to be friends... It was like he wasn't listening. And then he was just in so much pain from what Kane had done and whenever I started to say anything, he'd start talking about how much his back or neck hurt. I couldn't hurt him when he was already hurting so badly, right?" she whispered, then turned her head to look at him. "The kiss and me telling Zack I just wanted to be friends... That was real. That was me."

"And if what you just told me is for real... Then he was clearly trying to use your emotions... Manipulate you. He knew what you wanted to tell him."

"Punk-"

"No. I know the guy's hurt, but you and I both know that it's pretty damn telling that whenever you tried to be honest with him, he would suddenly be in so much pain that you just had to wait awhile longer. He knew what you wanted to tell him. He may act like a goof, but he's not that much of an idiot. So he played the sympathy card and... I'm guessing he wanted to make the public declaration two weeks ago - showing up with flowers and crap - because he knew it would be incredibly difficult for you to be honest with the whole world watching."

"That makes it sound so... calculated."

"I know. And maybe it was. If nothing else, Zack works hard to reach his goals."

"I'm not a goal-"

"No, you're a person. That doesn't mean he saw you as one. After last week... You know Cena's calculating. Zack's his friend, or he was. Maybe he's just as calculating, deep down."

"Which means I got played for a fool twice."

"Eve-"

"It doesn't matter anymore. I'm away from them both." She made a face. "He brought me roses that night. I hate roses. They're just for show. I want something real. Just once." The diva looked over at him. "Thank you. For what you've done."

He took a deep breath as he looked at her. "I thought you would hate me. For what I did. I'm glad I was wrong."


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks to those that are still reading this one.

Part Twelve

He couldn't seem to keep still. Kofi Kingston found himself pacing around his locker room - again - the man wondering if he should try to seek out Eve and explain his part in everything that had happened and hope she wouldn't be too angry with him. She had seemed okay with Punk out there tonight, not shying away from the WWE champion when Punk had touched her face prior to her and Natalya's match being restarted as a six-person intergender tag, nor had she pushed him away when Punk had put his arm around her after the match... But that might have just been because she'd needed to be able to rely on him then. After all, Punk had only gone out there in the first place because Cena had gone out there, obviously intent on attacking the diva. Eve had to know that it was a lot safer for her to be around CM Punk than it was to be at the mercy of John Cena. That didn't mean she wasn't still angry about what Punk had done earlier that night... What he'd helped Punk to do. After all, he was the one that had insisted that CM Punk watch what he'd accidentally recorded in John Cena's locker room the week before. He was the one that had actually made a copy of it and given it to Punk. Without him, CM Punk would have never known about the video, nor would he have been able to air it during the show. So even though Punk had been the one to air it, the one to take the stand against Cena... Kofi knew that if Eve was upset about it showing, then she would be just as angry with him as she was with Punk. Well, she would be once she'd figured out what part he'd played in it all. And if Punk was with her right now... Well, Eve probably knew the full truth.

Kofi jerked at the sound of the knock on the door, the man frowning at the door for a moment before realizing he needed to open it, making his way over and pulling the door open, blinking in surprise when he saw who was standing there. It was Natalya, Eve's tag team partner from earlier that night. Well, one of her tag team partners, actually, seeing as Punk had ended up teaming with the brunette woman as well. Glancing behind Natalya, he saw that Randy Orton was there as well, though the man kept his distance, leaning against the wall. It was clear he was keeping an eye on Natalya, though, which was just another piece of the puzzle that he didn't understand at the moment. He had no idea how it was that Orton fit into all of this.

"Nattie?"

The blonde woman gave him a small smile. "I wasn't sure if we'd find you here. I half-expected you to be at Punk's locker room by the time he and Eve got back there," the woman said, and Kofi frowned.

"Eve's with Punk? Right now?"

The diva nodded. "She is. They're... talking. About what happened. Explaining how he got the video, I guess," the Canadian said, arching a brow as she watched Kofi flinch slightly and look away. She nodded. "I thought you might have had something to do with it. Well, I at least figured you knew about it. Eve figured it out, too."

Kofi nodded slowly. "Yeah, I did. How'd you figure it?"

"Well, CM Punk tried to contact her most of the past week. He direct messaged her, asking her to call him. Just a few minutes ago she realized that you'd also tried to call her. She figured that neither of you were asking for an explanation of her behavior - which is what she thought before tonight - and that you were both instead trying to warn her about the video. And Punk told her she was right."

The man nodded again. "She was. I know... We should have made sure that she knew, but she wasn't at the house shows this past weekend, and she wasn't here before the show started, either, so..." He heaved out a sigh. "I'm guessing she made sure to get here after the show started to try and avoid people. She probably figured..."

"That everyone hated her?" Natalya finished for him. "I'm sure she did. And if you two hadn't aired that video, then she probably would have been right."

"Hey, Punk's the one that got it aired. I... I'm not sure what I would have done with it if it had just been me that had seen it. I would have been there for Eve, I know, but..." He shook his head. "I don't know if I would have done what Punk did. I'm not sayin' that Cena didn't deserve to have the fact that he's a total asshole revealed to everyone like that, I just... I guess I would have just been scared of Eve's reaction."

"Understandable. Punk seemed a bit unsure of Eve's reaction, too. He asked Eve how much she hated him for what he did," the diva said, shrugging when Kofi looked at her. "She doesn't hate him. I don't think she hates you, either. She knows that both of you tried to tell her that you knew, that you had the tape. Though I'm still not sure how that happened-"

"It was my camera. Cena had asked to look at it. I accidentally hit record on it before leaving it in his locker room."

"Well, I'm glad you did," Natalya replied. "Eve needs people right now. People who know the truth and will support her. I'm guessing that you and Punk will be two of those people. I'll be another one."

Kofi nodded slightly, then sent a look toward Orton. "What's he got to do with it all?"

Nattie looked back at the Viper, then shrugged. "After the video aired, he offered me and Eve the use of his locker room. He figured we could avoid the people we wanted to avoid if we were there. He was right. Of course, during the match earlier, he moved Eve's stuff to Punk's locker room, so that's where she is. I don't think she would mind seeing you," Natalya told him, then stepped back, giving the man a slight smile before she headed off with Randy Orton, probably to go and get her own things from the Viper's locker room. Or maybe she'd just hang out there for the rest of the show; Kofi didn't know. What he did know was that he needed to head to Punk's locker room and talk to Eve, make sure she didn't hate him. Or if she did, at least apologize profusely.

Taking a deep breath, Kofi stepped out in the hallway, his mind playing over the events of the night once again, from Punk going out there with the video to John trying to go out there during the divas' match to the match being turned into an intergender tag... The man vaguely wondering if John Cena had stopped to try and think about how it was that Punk had gotten his hands on the video, wondering if Cena would figure out that Punk had gotten it from him.

And as something hit the back of his head, pain exploding as he fell forward, Kofi realized that John Cena had already figured it out.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks to all that are still enjoying this one.

* * *

Part Thirteen

The sound of someone knocking frantically on the locker room door pulled them from the conversation they'd been having.

Frowning, CM Punk rose to his feet, the WWE champion heading over to the door, shooting a look back at Eve before he reached out and unlocked it, slowly opening the door, the man prepared to tell any interviewer out there to take a hike because they weren't talking about what had happened yet. But it wasn't one of the WWE's interviewers at the door.

It was Randy Orton.

"I thought you and Natalya were going back to your locker room," Punk said, glancing up and down the hall as if he thought he would spot the Canadian diva, his frown deepening when he realized that Orton was indeed alone. "What's going on?"

"We went to tell Kingston where you and Eve were. Thought he might want to stop by and talk to her, too," the Viper said, and Punk flinched a little at that, mostly because he hadn't considered that himself. He'd been so concerned with making sure that Eve didn't hate his guts that he hadn't really thought about going and finding Kofi and making sure that he got to talk to her, too.

"Shit. I didn't think to..." The Chicago native shook his head. "He hasn't come by here."

"That's because right after Nattie and I left him and headed back to my locker room... We heard a commotion back down the hall where Kofi would have been. Went running back, and... Man, Cena attacked him."

"What? Is he okay? And where's Nattie? If Cena gets his hands on her-"

"There are trainers there, and so is Sheamus. He won't let anything happen to her. She's safe. As for Kofi... He was out, man. By the time I got to him," Orton told him, and Punk closed his eyes, swearing under his breath before taking a step back and turning his attention back toward the interior of his locker room, where Eve was watching him with concern on her face. He and Orton had been speaking quietly enough that she hadn't heard what had happened, but it was clear from the look on her face that she knew something was up. Rising to her feet, she made her way over to him, frowning when she saw Orton in the doorway.

"What's going on?"

"It's Kofi. Apparently Cena figured out where the video must have come from. That Kofi's video camera was in the locker room and had picked up what happened.. And that he had to be the one to give it to me. Cena went after him."

"Oh, God."

"He didn't have much time to attack. I turned and ran down the hall as soon as I heard the commotion. He got a good shot in, though. Kofi was out when I got there... I think he may have been starting to come around by the time I headed here," Orton said, then met Eve's eyes. "And so you don't worry about her, Sheamus is with Natalya, so Cena won't be able to touch her. Not without a hell of a fight."

Eve nodded, then looked at Punk, the diva obviously upset and really, who could blame her? After everything that had happened both last week and this week, and now Kofi had been attacked as well. "We need to..."

He nodded, reaching for her hand. "I know. Let's go," the man told her, leading her out into the hallway, her hand held firmly in his own, the WWE champion very away that Randy Orton was right there with them, the Viper trailing just after them, which would likely keep anyone from being able to sneak up on them from behind... Or at least keep anyone from being able to get to Eve from behind.

"It happened just outside of his locker room... Not too far from the door. It was almost like..."

"Like Cena was waiting for him?" Eve asked in a quiet voice, and Orton shrugged his shoulders despite the fact that neither of them were looking at him right now.

"Maybe. I don't know. Hell, I didn't expect Cena to really have much of anything left in him after tonight. Punk practically choked him out on the ropes and then Rock came out to knock him around. I figured that was it for him and the precautions we were taking really weren't all that necessary. Guess I was wrong."

"Yeah, well, if you were wrong, so was I," Punk said. "I didn't even think about Kofi. I mean... Going to find him or anything. It's just..."

"It's my fault," Eve said quietly, stopping where she was, standing in the middle of the hallway. She stopped so abruptly that Orton had to sidestep a little in order to avoid running into her, and Punk was stopped short by the fact that he was still holding her hand. Quickly, he turned to look at the woman.

"Eve, no," he told her, shaking his head, shifting so that he was facing her completely and reaching out so that he held both of her hands. "This is not your fault."

"If I'd just-"

"Just what? Not told anyone what happened? Not dragged us into it? You didn't. Remember, Eve... Kofi and I chose to get involved in this. He caught it on camera, and I'm the one that put it up on the damned Titantron. It is not your fault. What Cena did to you is not your fault, and he deserves everything he got tonight. The problem is we underestimated him. Not you, but me. I didn't think of him figuring out that it was Kofi's camera. I didn't think he'd realize so quickly that Kofi was in on this. But we made the choice to do this, Eve. Don't blame yourself for what two grown men decided to do. If anything... blame us for putting you in the position you're in now."

"I'm in a better position now than I was last week," the diva said quietly. "I've actually got people that... People that know that... That I didn't want to act that way or say those things and... I just..."

"Cena's a hell of a lot bigger than you, and he hurt you. You've still got the marks to prove it. He's the asshole, Eve. And him attacking Kofi is just another sign that he's an asshole. We underestimated him this time. Thought he was done for the night or wouldn't realize that Kofi's one of us. We won't do that again. Okay? If we stick together... He may be John Cena, but not even he can take all of us down at once. Got it?"

She nodded, though she still looked a little uncertain. "Got it," she whispered, and Punk nodded, giving her hands a squeeze.

"Good. Now let's go check on Kofi."


End file.
